Everyday Make-up Products

Hiya :) thought I'd share with you my go-to everyday makeup products! My inspiration for posts is starting to run low so any requested would be appreciated!

FACE:

L-R; Blush/Contour Brush; Estee Lauder Blush/Bronzer/Highlight trio; Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (fair); L'oreal True Match Foundation (rose ivory); Revlon Colorstay Foundation (buff); Rimmel Stay Matte Powder (transparent); Powder Brush

I tend to switch between the foundations, which is why I included both :) I have also recently purchased a foundation brush which I will now be using everyday, I just didn't want to include it as it hasn't been in my routine that long.

EYES:

L-R; Maybelline Coverstick (ivory); Estee Lauder Eyeshadow (mocha); L'oreal Volume Million Lashes (extra black); Eyeshadow Brush; Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette

I use the Maybelline coverstick as an eyelid primer, which I find works well. I do use eyeliner, but rarely, which is why I didn't include it!

LIPS:

L-R; Vaseline with Aloe Vera; Estee Lauder Pure Crystal Color Lipstick (Crystal Baby); Revlon Lip Butter (Cotton Candy); L'oreal Rouge Caresse Lipstick (Tempting Lilac)

Top to Bottom; L'oreal Rouge Caresse Lipstick (Tempting Lilac); Revlon Lip Butter (Cotton Candy); Estee Lauder Pure Color Crystal Lipstick (Crystal Baby)

I tend to change my lip colours depending on what I'm wearing but these 3 are my most worn (especially Crystal Baby)! I also always apply Vaseline before my lipstick and during the day to keep my lips soft :)

Thanks for reading!

xoxo


DISLAIMER - all products were purchased with my own money apart from some items which were given as samples to me by Estee Lauder following buying their skincare products.


Just another little note - I'd really appreciate it if anyone could take the time to vote for my look in the Bbloggers Unite Red Carpet Makeup Challenge! You can vote HERE! by 'liking' the photo of my entry (the last one), or any other if you think it's better! Thanks :)

Clothes & Beauty Haul!

Hi guys :)

Thought I'd show you a few things I picked up from Lakeside recently, mainly for my holiday next week!

First, a quick plug, I'd really appreciate it if anyone could take the time to vote for my look in the Bbloggers Unite Red Carpet Makeup Challenge! You can vote HERE! by 'liking' the photo of my entry (the last one), or any other if you think it's better!

Anyway, on to the haul :)

Peacock Metal Trim Sandals - Dorothy Perkins (here) were £19 but bought for £12 in store

These lovelies were on offer in my local store, but not on-line which I find odd :/ anyway, these are the perfect colour for summer and are comfy to walk in all day! Good buy, I think :)

Flower Multi Coloured Vest Top - H&M (can't find on-line) - £7.99

This is lovely, the material is so soft and airy I think it'll be great for during the day and on a night out in summer :) It can also be dressed up or down which I love!

Purple Foil Lace Vest - Dorothy Perkins (here) - was £18 now £10 in the sale!

Once again, this is lovely for summer nights out! It's a little see through so I just put a black cami underneath but with shorts or a bodycon skirt this would look lush :)

Shikha Crochet Coral Dress - Republic (here) - £22

I'm in love with this dress. I love the bright colour, the floatyness and just everything about it! It's going to be perfect on holiday next week and maybe here in Britain too if summer ever arrives!

Blue High Waisted Shorts - Dorothy Perkins (here) - £23

So glad I picked these up! They're going to be amazing this summer and can be dressed up or down. They're also not too short, so I'm not showing my bum cheeks when I wear them!

Feather Earrings - River Island (not on-line) - £4

Love these :) they're so colourful and will be great to add colour to a dull outfit over summer! At only £4 I thought they were reasonably priced too :)

Foundation Brush - Ecotools - £7.99 (Found on-line or at Boots)

I've been needing a foundation brush for a while and this one appealed to me due to it's eco-friendliness! The brush itself is soft, and although I've only used it once, I liked the way my foundation was applied with it.

MUA Heaven and Earth Eyeshadow Palette - Superdrug (here) - £4

Top row, same order as above picture

Bottom row, same order as first picture

I finally caved into buying this. Even though I have a my Coastal Scents 88 Warm palette, I thought this one would be great for travelling and at £4, I couldn't go wrong. Most the colours are fairly pigmented when swatched and although I haven't used them on my eyes yet, the shadows seem soft and easily blend-able.

L'oreal Rouge Caresse Lipsticks in Dating Coral and Tempting Lilac - Boots (here) or Superdrug - £7.99

L-R; Dating Coral, Tempting Lilac

Top to Bottom; Tempting Lilac, Dating Coral

These are so lovely and creamy and pigmented, I'm surprised that there hasn't been more hype about them! They're as creamy as the Revlon Lip Butters (see my review here!) but stay on the lips a lot longer. Tempting Lilac is a beautiful nude pink with lilac undertones, perfect for everyday wear! Dating coral is a hot orange pink, not super bright, but enough for those who don't want to wear the full on orange lip trend :)

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

DISCLAIMER: All items were purchased with my own money!

NOTD: Ciate Paint Pot in 'Jelly Bean'

Grabbed this beauty free with Marie Claire yesterday while I was bored on my break from work! Isn't it lovely? I think it's perfect for summer :) I've always steered away from bright pinks because they are quite 'girly' but I don't care with this one, it's absolutely gorgeous, full size and it was FREE!

The other shade they had was a lilac one, which also looked pretty and I think they also have a nude colour available but I preferred this one as the blue undertones/slight glitter add another dimension to this polish :)

Once again apologies for my short nails, I am attempting to grow them!

The formula of this is faultless, it was completely opaque in 2 coats, dried quickly and has a great large flat brush. I utterly love this (especially the cute packaging!) and would definitely consider buying more shades :)

If you haven't already grabbed your copy of Marie Claire this month then definitely do it! It's only £3.70 and you get an amazing quality freebie :)

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

BBLOGGERS UNITE: Red Carpet Makeup Challenge!

Hiya!

Bbloggers Unite are holding a competition to see who can create the best red carpet look, and this is my entry! Although I had fun creating this look anyway, to make it better there is a prize for the winner! See their blog post here to find out more and be sure to follow them to join the beauty blogger community!

I decided to go for a dewy natural face with a neutral slightly smokey eye with a bright pink lip! :)

With flash.

Sorry for the lighting! My camera wouldn't pick up the shadow at all with the flash on :(

FACE:

• L'oreal True Match Foundation in Rose Ivory
• Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair
• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent
• Estee Lauder Bronzer in Bronze Goddess (middle of trio at the back!)
• Rimmel Powder Blush in Pink Rose

EYES:

• Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette
• L'oreal Contour Khol eye-liner in Iced Chestnut
• L'oreal Volume Million Lashes mascara in Extra black

LIPS:

• Revlon Colorstay lip-liner in Pink
• Estee Lauder Pure Color lipstick in Blushing Creme

Thanks for reading!!

xoxo

Diet Update :)

I'm buzzing right now! Just weighed myself and I've lost 8 pounds in 5 days! So so so happy :) losing weight is one of my 7 goals this month too (see my post here!) so I'm doing well!

I've been trying to lose weight for my holiday since May, and I started off great doing a low calorie diet but eventually I just plateaued and stopped losing weight :( so since Monday, I've been essentially on the Atkins diet, where I'm allowed no more than 6g of carbs a day.

When I first started this, I thought it would be really hard for me as I'm a vegetarian, and as meat is low in carbs, that's how most people vary what they eat on this diet. However, living off cheese omelettes (if you think I'm kidding, I'm not, that's practically all I've eaten this week!) isn't too bad, and now I've got used to it and my body is burning fat, I don't see the point in stopping :)

I go on holiday in 11 days, so hopefully I may be able to knock off another 10 pounds or even a stone before then which would be amazing!! I will keep you guys updated, and will probably add some before and after pictures in my next diet post if I feel confident enough to.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

DISCLAIMER: I'm aware that you should lose weight gradually, however I'm not losing a ridiculous amount of weight and other than being overweight I'm a healthy young woman, so my body can handle this :) I'm not a health professional or whatever so if you're planning on doing a low carb diet, you should consult your GP first, especially if you want to lose more than 20% of your body weight.

Revlon Colorbust Lip Butters Review

I'm a bit a late on the bandwagon, I know, but I just had to do a post on these! The Revlon Lip Butters came to the UK in April I think, and since buying my first one and loving it, I bought two more completely different shades (I now have a red, a peach and a baby pink!) and I think it's time to review them!

In photos below L-R: Peach Parfait, Cotton Candy, Candy Apple.

I love the packaging of these, they look sleek and stylish but also with a pop of colour which represents what is in the tube and I also love that the top of the tubes are clear so you can see what's inside!

I don't think these are meant to have fantastic colour pay off as they are so creamy however the red shade "Candy Apple" can be built up to be a very pigmented red.

025 Peach Parfait

Apologies for my face/hair/outfit, the weather is miserable today!!

Peach Parfait was the first lip butter I bought and is a shimmery and glittery nudeish peach colour. Of all the colours I have, this is the most glittery so if you don't like glittery lip products stay away from this shade!

045 Cotton Candy

Cotton candy is a shimmery (though not as much as Peach Parfait!) light blue toned pink. The colour is build-able from sheer to a fairly decent coat of baby pink colour on the lips.

035 Candy Apple

Candy Apple is my most recent purchase. I chose this colour as I had been wanting to try out a red lip again but didn't want my lips to feel dried out. This colour is definitely build-able to a bright red colour but can also be applied more sheer. I find that this is the only lip butter I would need to use a mirror to apply as this is the most pigmented of the 3 I own.

Pros

• Very moisturising
• Build-able colour
• Good colour range

Cons

• Too expensive for a tinted lip balm (especially in the lighter shades, the red I think can be justified)
• Some shades are very glittery
• Stay power could be better
• Some shades are very sheer

Overall, I would recommend these if you don't mind topping up your lip colour throughout the day and are looking for a moisturising lip product with build-able colour. If you want staying power, there are better lip sticks and lip stains than these products.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Not a sponsored post.

RRP £7.99. You can buy these on-line, or from Boots (all Revlon Cosmetics are 3 for 2 at the moment!) or Superdrug (where the lip butters are on special offer at £5.99!)

ASOS & Dorothy Perkins Wishlist

As I need to go holiday shopping, I thought I would have a browse of what's around on the internet first :) Here are the 5 items I found that really tickled my fancy - though if I bought all of these I think my purse would die :(

Just a little note that I know I'm not the most fashionable person, I have my own style, so don't diss if you don't like what I like, respect individuality :)

TFNC Chiffon Dress in Mint - ASOS - £35

How perfect would this be on a summer evening? It's so colourful and bright but looks all floaty and comfy too :)

Buy here!





ASOS Metal Bar Detail Envelope Clutch - ASOS - £18


I've been needing a black clutch for a while and I wanted one that would go with any outfit I wanted to wear out and it looks like this one would do just that!

Buy it here!

Mint Butterfly Print Maxi Dress - Dorothy Perkins - £45


When I first saw this dress on the Dorothy Perkins website I knew I wanted it and I still do, but why does it have to be so expensive? :(

Buy it here or in store!

Blue High Waisted Shorts - Dorothy Perkins - £23


I think high waisted jeans are perfect for summer as they can be dressed up or down! Blue is a nice and easy colour to match outfits too as well so I think these would be a decent investment.

Buy here or in store!

Metallic Metal Trim Sandals - Dorothy Perkins - £19


My sandals from last summer have had it, so I thought these would be a nice replacement as they would go with anything and can be worn night or day :)

Buy them here or in store!

Bargain: 6 Pairs of Earrings for £2!

So I went for lunch today with one of my friends (being more social is one of my goals this month! See my post here) and afterwards, we had a wander round the shops. Get to Dorothy Perkins and see the "50% Sale!" signs and we practically ran inside - cos we're cool :)

I was tempted by some of the clothes, but not enough to actually buy anything (I'm so skanky with money!) but I did end up picking up this set of 6 pairs of earrings for £2 which were meant to be £7.50! Bargain? I think so :)

5 of the 6 pairs

The last pair is the cross earrings in my second hole :) The hoop earrings where a gift from my boyfriend for my birthday!

I'll be honest, I was most attracted to the dangly feathery ones, they're so pretty! But some of the others are lovely too, I like the crosses I put in when I got home, the feather studs and the simple gemmed studs but the other two pairs may not get much wear :/ but for £2 how can you go wrong?!

If you have a Dorothy Perkins near you definitely pop in, you could grab some clothing or jewellery bargains yourself!

xoxo

Purchased with my own money :)

Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro Primer Review

This was the first foundation primer I had tried, and even so, I wasn't particularly impressed. It feels nice on the skin, but I honestly did not see an improvement in the staying power of my foundation.


According to Rimmel, this product is meant to "smooth and minimize pores, resurface the skin for an even complexion, brighten skin all day, protect skin from environmental aggressors  and mattifies and eliminates shine. Create your smoothest, most even, poreless complexion!" 

I don't want to be harsh, but I don't agree with any of what is said by Rimmel. The product itself feels nice on the skin and although it doesn't make me shiny, I wouldn't say it mattifies either. My pores are certainly still visible after this (especially compared with Benefit's Porefessional, which I got a sample of in this month's Glamour magazine) and I did not notice a significant difference in staying power of my foundation. I use Revlon Colorstay, which tends to be pretty long wearing compared to other foundations I've tried on my combination/oily skin. Another thing that puts me off this product is the smell, it has a slight sun cream scent and I don't really like that.

Overall, I wouldn't purchase this again even if it is only £6.99 as it doesn't do what it claims. If anyone has a better suggestion for primers, preferably drug-store then please comment below :)

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

DISCLAIMER - this is my own experience, I'm sure there's people out there who love this and that's great, I'm just voicing my opinion on a product.

7 Things: June; Interactive with Sprinkle of Glitter!

After reading Sprinkle of Glitter (Louise)'s post (HERE) I knew I had to join in! Basically, the idea is to set 7 goals for yourself to achieve (Louise does it every week, I'm going to aim for every month to be realistic) and then comment on her post, leave your blog link and become part of the interactive group of people doing a similar thing! :)

So here are my 7 things I want to achieve by the end of June: (I will be doing it monthly thereafter, and the goals will probably be bigger - I only have 11 days to achieve these!)

1. Lose weight. I'm currently on a no carbs diet, so hopefully I should lose some weight before the end of June and even more before I go on holiday in early July!
2. Blog more! As I have quite a lot of free time since finishing my A levels, I want to blog more :) realistically, I'm aiming for a post roughly every other day.
3. Be more positive. I'm an extremely pessimistic person, and it's just really depressing to live on the down side so I want to try to be more positive about everything to hopefully make me a happier person :)
4. Stick to a night time skin routine. I always follow my morning skincare routine, but at night I'm terrible and usually sleep in my make up which makes my skin look so dull and can cause break outs. So I've started a night time skin routine and I want to stick with it!!!
5. Read. I have so many books to get through that I've got from Christmas and my birthday but haven't had time to start due to exams so by the end of the month, I want to get a decent way into (or even finish!) a book :)
6. Be more social. I'm guilty of blowing off seeing my friends to laze in front of the TV with my boyfriend which is TERRIBLE I know :( and since most of my friends are back from uni soon, I want to see them as much as possible to catch up and have a laugh :)
7. Don't have any regrets. This is a new life goal for me since my boyfriend and I went through a rough stage. As well as being positive, I don't want to regret a single thing I do and I want to take advantage of every opportunity I get even if it's little things :)

Thanks for reading and be sure to check out Louise's post and join in!!

xoxo

NOTD: Attempting the 'accent' nail!

First of all, I'm a nail biter. That's why my nails are so short :( however, I love playing around with nail polishes as having pretty nails tends to make me leave them alone for a bit :) any tips for stopping nail biting will be appreciated!

On the majority of my fingers I have on OPI's "You Callin' Me A Lyre?" from their New York Ballet Collection, and on my accent nail I have on a few coats of Rimmel's glitter top coat in "Disco Gold".

Have a nice evening!! :)
xoxo

OPI polishes can be purchased from any department store or online for around £11.
Rimmel glitter polishes can be purchased from Boots or Superdrug for around £4.50.
This is not a sponsored post, both polishes were bought with my own money :)

L'oreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara Review

As a make up addict, I have tried a lot of different mascaras and also love to try new things and change my make up routine. However, once I found this baby that all stopped. This mascara is amazing!!! I've been using it on a daily basis for around 6 months but I have had a tube in my collection for a good 2 years, using it on and off. 

When I first got this, I thought it was too pricey (I'm a student, don't judge me!) to be using as an everyday mascara so just used to use it for special occasions such as parties etc. However, recently I've realised that this mascara can be used to create better than natural day to day lashes as well as extremely voluminous night time lashes and so I have been using this everyday.

The good thing is that this products tends to be part of some sort of offer at Boots or Superdrug, whether it's a 3 for 2 or buy one get one half price. 

I have tried the original formula and the extra black formula but would like to try the waterproof, the luminizer for different coloured eyes and the new collagen formula.

This is the packaging, nothing really special, just a good sturdy tube. 

This is the 'millionizer' brush which claims to separate lashes and make each of them 3 times bigger.

Now what this mascara claims to do is have an excess wiper inside the tube in order to collect any excess mascara to prevent clumping. I think this works for the brush itself but sometimes clumps of mascara remains on the very tip of the wand which can transfer to the lashes and make them clump.

I do have fairly long eyelashes naturally, but don't let that put you off! I tried this on my step sister once and she has fairly short eyelashes and her's looked amazing afterwards!!

My natural lashes:

After 2-3 coats of mascara - my 'day to day' lashes:

My nose really isn't THAT big :( it's the camera angle I promise!

After more coats - my going out / night time lashes:

Again with the nose >.< if my lashes didn't look as nice as they do here this photo would not be here!!

PROS

• amazing volume and length
• good staying power
• very black in colour
• can be used day to day and at night for a dramatic effect

CONS

• price
• can be a little clumpy
• can flake off a little during the day

In conclusion - I love this mascara!! It gives me amazing volume and length and makes it look like I'm wearing falsies! To anyone wanting to try it out - go for it, it's worth the money :)

Thanks for reading!
xoxo


You can buy this mascara for £10.99 from Boots or Superdrug. 
All opinions are my own, this is not an affiliated post. I bought this mascara with my own money!